Box Score LONDON, Ont. — Despite a big night from veteran guard Jenny Vaughan and another great all-around outing by Laura Dally, the Mustangs couldn’t hang on for a win against the Lakehead Thunderwolves, succumbing in overtime 80-83.

Just last night the Mustangs topped the Thunderwolves 80-68, but the tricks that worked the first time around have now long since been broken down on film and analyzed under intense scrutiny. To beat the Thunderwolves for the second time in two days, head coach Brian Cheng’s team could not afford any mental lapses, especially with the playoffs just around the corner.

“I think Lakehead really wanted it. They played like a team with their backs up against the wall,” Cheng said after the loss.

“They lost the first game and they knew they needed to win this game to stay even. If we won, we would’ve pushed them down two games in the standings. They played like a desperate team down the stretch.”

Second-year guard Annabel Hancock picked up where she left off in the first-quarter in the previous matchup, burning the Thunderwolves’ transition defense with a pair of corner three-pointers. Hancock amassed 10 of her 17 points in the first 10 minutes of action. Her early success helped orchestrate 13-unanswered-points for the Mustangs after coming out of the gates slow.

Lakehead’s attention to Hancock in the second-quarter would allow OUA scoring-title contender Vaughan the space she needed to light up the box score with an array of quick-cutting layups.

The Mustangs would hang on to an eight-point lead with one quarter of action left to play, but a Lakehead comeback still in the realm of possibility with their deadly perimeter shooters on the floor.

As if under mandate to make the game exciting, Lakehead’s shooters did indeed begin hitting their mark from three-point territory. The rejuvenated attack from the visitors out-paced the variety of jump shots and back door layups from the likes of Vaughan, Dally and Hancock.

Having trailed Western since midway through the first-quarter, a Kelsey Bardsley three-pointer put the Thunderwolves up 72-70 with 1:51 left in the game, giving them the edge. A reverse layup from Vaughan would pull the two teams even with 56.6 remaining. Katie Ulakovic responded for the Thunderwolves with a running floater over the heads of the Mustang defenders. The Mustangs missed on their next attempt, but when Lakehead’s Ayse Kalkan was called for travelling the Mustangs were granted one more chance to salvage their squandered lead with 11.4 to play.

With Vaughan driving into the key, Kalkan was once again whistled, this time for inadvertent contact with Vaughan, putting one of the OUA’s top scorers and free-throw shooters on the foul-line with two shots to take, down two points with 2.7 on the clock.

Vaughan showed calmness under pressure in her clutch moment. She made both shots with ease. The Mustangs went into their first overtime period of the season, tied up with Lakehead 74-74.

After four minutes of intense play, the Mustangs found themselves in a nearly identical situation as what had transpired minutes earlier—again, the Mustangs were down two points with less than 10 seconds to play. A Lakehead foul shot would push the lead to three, denying the Mustangs and their fans an exciting crunch-time victory with the final Mustang attempt falling short of the basket.

There was a lingering feeling of disappointment in the air following the game. After decisively winning the first 30 minutes of play, Cheng knows where his team will need to improve to compete with the best in the OUA.

“Taking care of the ball—executing on offense with sureness in critical times with the game on the line, and taking care of our defensive rebounds will be a critical function. We got out-rebounded in the fourth-quarter and overtime,” Cheng said.

Vaughan led the Mustangs with a game-high 29 points made all seven of her free-throw attempts, and Dally followed up her triple-double night with a respectable 18 points, a game-high nine rebounds and six assists.

Ulakovic led the Thunderwolves with 25 points.

The Mustangs will be on the road next to take on the Brock Badgers on Wednesday, January 23. Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m.